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Chapter two (HLBL)
Author's Note: Harry's War of Conquest will be broken down and limited to this one chapter due to his resources and strategies. I intended to make filler chapters, but I hate making filler. The Taking of the Stepstones. The combined forces of Houses Lannister, Martell, and Tyrell had arrived at the Stepstones just before night fall and began waiting until it was darker for the invasion. It had been a difficult last few months, with the establishing of a new house to rule and Harry getting written permission and certain rights from King Robert to begin his conquest of the Stepstones and Essos and establish new ruling houses. Harry literally became a King Maker and would be empowering his family to levels beyond their wildest dreams. The intended new ruling house of the Stepstones was part Lannister and Martell, using distant but trustworthy and capable cousins, and it would be an extension of both, but Harry intended for House Lannister to have much greater influence over it and its resources. With several new gold and silver mines under their control, House Lannister would grow in wealth and power, and the other metals like iron, tin, and copper would help too. Harry did make sure that House Martell got plenty of great holdings too, and with Oberyn being Sirius reincarnated Harry wanted to do that for his family. It was finally time for the invasion of the Stepstones to commence.... Harry and Oberyn would be leading the conquest of Bloodstone and the other Lannister and Martell soldiers would be securing some specified holdings for their lords. The Redwyne and Lannister fleets would be containing any enemies and dealing with any Myrish, Lyseni, or Tyroshi interference. Harry wasn't expecting any trouble from them; yet, but felt it best to be prepared. Harry's boat silently neared the shore of Bloodstone, with Harry only seeing a few guards keeping watch. The others were thankfully drunk and asleep. A few quick shots from his archers took out all the men on the docks and allowed them to land larger numbers before a big confrontation. It wasn't to last, but they at least landed a few thousand before an alarm was sounded. When the pirates attacked, Harry and his personal elite, his black armored Lionguard, intercepted them, and with the magic Harry imbued their amulets with, they were fighting at a near-superhuman level and cutting them down without losing an inch of ground. That, combined with the Runic armor and weapons, enabled them to quickly end the flow and enter Bloodstone. "Alright, go floor to floor and kill any pirates. Women, children, prisoners, and slaves are to be spared unless they attack you. The other soldiers will begin sweeping the island and do the same. No looting or raping." Harry ordered, his soldiers nodded fearfully. They knew better than to defy Hadrian Lannister. He castrated rapists, and it was better to earn money and get a whore and even a disease than risk his wrath. Taking Bloodstone was pathetically easy. Every pirate was easily cut down by superior weapons, armor, men, and skill. That wasn't particularly boast worthy, but it was a great first win on Harry's compaign and would serve to increase morale for the more difficult conquests. The other islands fell to overwhelming numbers and were securely occupied and Dorne gained a few dozen ships for its navy, and they would gain more when Tyrosh was conquered and it's fleet taken. "I suppose that I should use my magic to restore Bloodstone Castle to habitability. I'll have to do it with all the worthy buildings," Harry said, before channeling his magic through Bloodstone Castle and causing it to be rapidly repaired. "That's done. The combined wealth here should give the new ruling house plenty of wealth to improve their holding. Tyrosh will be added to the Kingdom of the Stepstones too and that will make it even wealthier." The commanders of the other forces entered the throne room. "Report," Harry said calmly. "All islands taken, with the pirates killed. All loot was brought with us to be divided up between House Martell, Lannister and the new ruling house. There are at least a hundred ships, and most are in great shape." The captain reported. Ser Lucion Lannister and his new Martell wife approached and kneeled. "Ser Lucion Lannister, do you and your wife renounce your last names and consent to hereby be known as the Martin's?" Harry asked. "We do, My Lord," Lucion replied after a glance at his wife. "Very well. By the authority vested in me by Robert of House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, I, Hadrian of the House Lannister, bestow upon you the titles, Lord Martin of House Martin, Lord of Bloodstone, and Lord Paramount of the Stepstones." Harry said formally. "Once Tyrosh is taken, your new kingdom will be secured and expanded. More so once the Tyrell's take Myr and I take Lys. Once these holdings are secured, you and your vassals are required to personally swear oaths of fealty to King Robert Baratheon." The newly named Martin's nodded in agreement and Harry left to rest and prepare for the taking of Tyrosh. Five days later... The combined army of Houses Lannister, Martell, and Tyrell had blockaded Tyrosh for days and had already taken their entire navy and sent it to safety, but Harry was getting impatient. "Lord Redwyne, Lord Tarly. What do you advise for speeding up the conquest of Tyrosh with minimal or no casualties." "The walls are made of Dragonstone, Lord Hadrian. We will have to starve them out." Lord Randyll Tarly replied. "Which will take time and leave the Stepstones vulnerable to Lys and Myr before we can deal with them," Harry said, appreciating the honest assessment. "It'll have to be infiltrated and taken by my assassins or we can offer gold to whoever opens the gates, the second of which I dislike. I'll wait until night fall and send people to infiltrate and take control of the gates and let us in near morning. Tyrosh isn't practical for night time urban warfare; too many high buildings and alleys to obstruct the light of the near-full moon. Any opinions or ideas for improving the strategy?" "No, it is the best option to deal with Tyrosh in a timely manner." Randyll said, confirming what Harry already believed. Lord Redwyne nodded in agreement. The next day... Harry had successfully sent his best assassins and three of his Lionguard into Tyrosh, and they took the city gates for him and a large portion of his and Oberyn's army was now inside the walls and waiting for the sun to rise. The Redwyne and Lannister fleet would continue the blockade and protect the force from the sea. Already, his assassins were killing the Archon and other important officials and any sellswords that could be an obstacle. Eventually, the sun rose and people came out of their homes, and the Lannister-Martell army began the attack. Harry began easily dispatching his enemies, moving in a blur of movement, and killing dozens a minutes and leaving all but his Lionguard behind. Harry felt perfectly at home in battle and calmly continued the slaughter of enemies... until he was distracted by sensing Valyrian steel and took a sword strike to his armored chest. Harry easily killed the nearby sellswords and walked, uninjured, towards the Windblown leaders: The Tattered Prince, Caggo, and Denzo D'han, who noticed him and all moved forward to kill Harry and hopefully cause the enemy to withdraw after losing their leader... Harry casually cutting down Caggo and Denzo D'han destroyed that notion. And Harry easily beheading The Tattered Prince moments later completely destroyed the morale of the Windblown instead, and when they attempted to flee to their horses, it only got them killed faster and more easily. Harry retrieved the Valyrian steel arakh and continued killing. When all was said and done, the Windblown were eradicated, every slaver was put to death, certain wealthy and powerful families were wiped out and had their wealth taken, and after seeing someone burned alive by Red Priests, they were all executed and their worshipers too. The newly freed slaves could earn money and keep the money that they earned, and would now experience a much better quality of living, which Harry felt made this venture all the more meaningful. The gold and Valyrian steel helped too, of course. Harry was currently in a borrowed forge reforging the Valyrian steel arahk with Lords Tarly, Redwyne, and Oberyn all watching in awe... "Lord Hadrian," A soldier said nervously from behind him. "Yes?" Harry asked, having just taken a brief break to heat the metal. "We found a healer of the Brave Companions attempting to heal his comrades and have brought him to you at his request." "I wish to serve you Lord Lannister. I believe that I would be useful to you with my healing skills. I'm better than any man in Oldtown." Qyburn said, though not with any arrogance. "Ah, the infamous Qyburn," Harry said, without turning around. "I heard of your studies to advance healing knowledge and how the Maester's disliked your methods. I am willing to employ you and fund your research in exchange for you documenting discoveries to be published and considering taking students as heirs of sorts." "I agree with your terms," Qyburn replied, already getting more than what he expected. "Good, did you ever have an interest in smithing?" Harry asked. "I did..." Qyburn replied, but not wanting to assist him with making a sword. "Would you like to witness the reforging of Valyrian steel?" Harry asked, causing Qyburn's eyes to light up. "I would," Qyburn replied, and walked over to sit with Harry's guests to get a better view. Harry continued shaping the metal into a bastard sword, killing all conversation with the noise. When he was done, he plunged the blade into human blood to cool it, with human blood having been replaced with the water normally used. "And that is how Valyrian steel is reforged, but it's still wise to have a master in doing so reforge it. I was fortunate enough to have learned from my maternal grandfather. To actually create Valyrian steel requires spells, dragonfire, dragonglass, and blood to cool the blade in. The Valyrian's used the blood of slaves, but most use animal blood in recent times. Human blood supposedly strengthens the blade further and most testified to support that claim, which is why I used the blood of those to be executed." Harry said before beginning work on the hilt and pommel, which would be basic and could be changed by whoever bought it or was given it as a gift. "That was interesting," Paxter Redwyne said in awe, having learned a major Valyrian secret. Randyll nodded in agreement, but was nowhere near as awed as Paxter. Both of them left to manage to their armies and Qyburn also left. Harry cast a spell to soundproof the tent. "So, Oberyn. Ironwood or dragonbone for a shaft?" Harry asked. "Neither. Valyrian steel is too expensive to be given as gifts." Oberyn replied, his past life as Sirius Black not letting him accept such an expensive gift. "I have a lot of Valyrian steel weapons and armor, and I can secretly forge more. Besides, I need it to seem like I'm trying to win over House Martell. I assume you still want revenge against certain members of House Lannister and Baratheon, like Tywin, Robert, and perhaps killing Cersei and Joffrey." "You would allow us to kill your family?" Oberyn asked in shock. "I would allow justice to be carried out. Tywin is a deplorable person. Robert is drunken whoring waster, an idiot, and a wife beater. Cersei is a dumb whore and her children the by-product of incest with my own father in this world. Joffrey has madness and cruelty to rival Aerys, or, as Sansa Stark will one day put it 'Joffrey is a monster.'" Harry said, to Oberyn's shock. "The only reason I'm opposed to Jaime, Tommen, and Myrcella dying is that Jaime will grow into a better and more humble person, and Tommen and Myrcella are good people and truly innocent." "I think Doran would agree to that. Do you support a restored Targaryen dynasty?" "No. Viserys has his fathers madness and Daenerys isn't viable. Daenerys grows up to burn people for execution, crucify innocent people by lumping them in with the guilty, and while she is tolerable despite that, it isn't worth the risk of madness. The trueborn son of Rhaegar and Lyanna isn't trained to rule, but could make a viable husband/general for Daenerys if he was informed of his parentage. I have plans to give him a chance to develop the skills needed, but I'm not that optimistic. I have a near-non-existent claim to the Iron Throne as a descendant of one of Aegon the Unworthy's legitimized bastards, but I'm not that interested." Harry said, continually shocking Oberyn with the reveals. "I know that this is a shock, and what I will say next even more so... You know how both of your sisters Elia's pregnancies nearly killed her?" Harry asked, Oberyn nodded yes. "They both consented to annulment and Lyanna Stark went with Rhaegar willingly. The entire rebellion was built on a lie or an assumption. Though any sane woman would refuse to marry Robert Baratheon..." Harry added, to Oberyn's amusement. "Now, Ironwood or Dragonbone?" Harry asked. "Ironwood," Oberyn said, going with the least costly option. Harry smirked and began forging Oberyn his new Valyrian steel spear... When he finished, the Ironwood shaft would be strengthened much further by First Men Runes and his own enchantments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the next few months, Lys, Myr, and Pentos were taken and new boundaries were drawn with the Tyrell held Myr being one of the largest holdings... It was only Harry's ego that caused him to redraw boundaries and make Pentos the biggest. All of this conquest and Harry's emphatic refusal to bribe Khals had made Harry some enemies, thirty-thousand Dothraki savages and an alliance of Khals. Naturally, such a force would inflict massive casualties to his army and likely destroy his goal of conquest. So, naturally, Harry did the wise thing... He went almost alone to face thirty thousand men. Almost, because Oberyn insisted on coming along and dying with Harry to show solidarity, which Harry found kind and insulting in equal measure. "Well, ready to see my grand strategy to deal with the Khals?" Harry asked. "Yes, and be quick about it, they are preparing to kill us." Oberyn said, gesturing to the Dothraki. Harry smirked in reply and telekinetically lifted every Dothraki man from the ground or horses and crushed their hearts. All valuables were then removed from them and the horses were rendered docile by Harry's cloud of magic. The women and children were stripped of valuables and sent away with no memory of how Harry slew the Khals and their Khalasars. All together, Harry had made an immense amount of gold for himself and the horses could be sold in Essos and Westeros for even more. Harry was pleased with the results of a days work, but knew he still had alot more to conquer. 291 years after Aegon's conquest. Norvos, Qohor, and Selhorys were all conquered by Harry, with Oberyn having been required to return to Sunspear due to missing his paramour and children, and having exceeded the permission granted to him by his brother to join in the conquest. Harry had purged the rivers Ar Noy, the Sorrows, and Dagger Lake of all pirates and put them to death and took their ships and valuables for himself. And now, Harry would conquer the holdings of Volantis before finally breaking their power. Best of all, Harry had only lost 7,000 of his army in a year of warfare, and had been recruiting more for his intended final conquest. Already Harry was being compared to the greatest generals of all time and had earned names such as Hadrian the Great and Hadrian the Conquerer. When Harry's army arrived at Valysar, they were faced by the Golden Company and several other less important mercenary companies. Still, they lacked the numbers to do anything more than weaken him for the armies of Volantis, so he raised a flag of truce to meet with the leader... "Myles Toyne, surely you must realize that Volantis is sending your company to die just to weaken my army. Why not fight on my side and be rewarded, and, most importantly, live?" Harry asked, justifiably arrogant about his chances. He hadn't lost a battle yet and he had no intention of doing so. "The Golden Company never breaks a contract and our superior training, discipline, and equipment will be your death. Now, unless you wish to surrender or withdraw, then you should prepare for your final battle, Lannister." Toyne said, before riding back to his men. Harry did the same, while contemplating ways other than using his secret weapon to minimalize his casualties. "Prepare the modified wildfire to be used, and when the battle starts, concentrate on the war elephants and archers. I'm hoping that once I kill Toyne the Golden Company will surrender and possibly aid us against Volantis." The modified wildfire only exploded or ignited when dropped, broken, or lit on fire, which Harry considered a major improvement. Once the Golden Company finally uttered their battle cry, they were quickly bombarded by wildfire that quickly caused their elephants to panic as they attempted to extinguish themselves, crushing men in the process, and their archers were quickly killed off, only managing to fire off a few arrows that did nothing. Eventually, Harry magically extinguished the wildfire and magically enhanced his voice. "Mercenaries! The Triarchs of Volantis knew of this weapon, I used it in Selhorys against their forces. They knowingly sent you to your deaths to weaken my army, join me and avenge your fallen brothers! I will make sure that you are paid fair wages and offer you a place in the City Watch or army of this new kingdom!" All 1,000 of their cavalry and 5,000 infantry joined him, and another couple thousand sellswords also joined him. Valysar fell in minutes and every slaver was put to death and every slave was freed. Any of those who attempted to rape or loot were put to death, which caused some anger but Harry had made his point and they didn't cause any more trouble. Valon Therys fell in a night. Again, every slaver was killed and every slave was freed. Every follower of R'hllor was put to death. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was finally time to conquer Volantis, Harry thought, with no particular emotion. Already his men were infiltrating eastern Volantis and ready to let his men into it when Harry had secured the rest of the city. This battle was sure to be a bloodbath with all the slavers and followers of R'hllor within the city, and Harry was somewhat dreading it, but he also knew that it was necessary. Harry began the cleansing of Volantis with a mighty swing of his sword... And when he swung his sword for the last time that night, thousands had been killed: women, children, old men, slaves, slavers, and free men. Harry erased the evidence of his crime in overwhelming shame, but not remorse... People forgot, bodies, idols, and temples were destroyed, and the wealth of the slain was taken as spoils for House Lannister and himself. The only good that came from his actions, Harry mused, was that the nobles of Volantis were cowed into submission with very few continuing resistance. They got to keep their wealth and noble status, but would be ruled by Harry's chosen family and pay taxes and swear fealty to the Iron Throne. Harry was pleased to have completed his objectives, but slavers from Slaver's Bay would be coming to re-enslave all the now former slaves and enslave of the free people. Harry had informed the Lord Hand Jon Arryn of him delaying his return, also asking him to inform his father; Ser Jaime, and did the same for his grandfather and Oberyn. He assured them that he wouldn't require aid and that if he did they would be too late anyway. Still, Harry was truly enraged and privately vowed to break them and sack their cities. Harry began preparations for travelling to Slaver's Bay and for the battle and sacking. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Astapor was quickly defeated, sacked, and razed to the ground, with every man wearing a tokar or wielding a whip slain. The taken wealth was beyond calculation and had made Harry with wealthiest man in the world, but Harry knew he would have to invest it into improving his holdings. The now freed slaves were being transported to their new homes in the Free Cities by the ships that joined him for that purpose. Sadly, the Unsullied refused to join him and were utterly destroyed by Harry's wave of Fiendfyre. Normally, Harry wouldn't do so, but memories were modified afterward and Harry had confirmed that no spies were around. Now, Harry needed to conquer Yunkai, but was faced with 4,000 slave soldiers and 1,000 sellswords, the Stormcrows and Second Sons. "Slaves and mercenaries! Do not oppose me! Your masters and employers send you against me knowing without a doubt that you will die, while they flee like the cowards they are! I have taken the Free Cities and have been joined by the remnants of the Golden Company. Turn on your masters and employers, and be free and be spared death! Join me and be rewarded!" Harry said, enhancing his voice with magic so that all could hear him. The so-called Wise Masters fleeing was a complete lie, of course, but they didn't need to know that. That deal was too good for most to refuse, almost all of the sellswords went right and the slaves seeking freedom went left and surrounded the remaining few who chose to fight for the Wise Masters. The truly obstinate were quickly killed by arrows from Harry's archers. Harry raised a flag of truce and met with the leaders of the Stormcrows, Second Sons, and Slave army. "Thank you for defecting from the slavers," Harry said. "Will your men agree not to rape and pillage?" "No, that's the best part of war," Mero replied somewhat mockingly, and the leaders of the Stormcrows nodded in agreement. "How about unrestricted pillaging, with my forces taking nothing from Yunkai, but no raping or taking slaves?" Harry asked, and, again, was refused, which Harry found extremely greedy and idiotic... So Harry just annihilated the Stormcrows and Second Sons; bodily destroying them all, and storing all valuables in his vault with a portal. Once Harry had their horses secured, he ordered the leader of the slave army to prepare his army for battle and returned to his own army. "Launch the wildfire at the walls and gates. We need a clear path for our army into the city." Harry ordered coldly, and still having wildfire to spare. Harry watched with cold detachment as the walls and gates were bombarded and rapidly melted, and when they were utterly destroyed Harry extinguished the wildfire and ordered his army forward. The city fell in five hours, Harry thought boredly, five hours later. Every noble was killed and every single valuable of its free people was taken, before finally bathing the city in wildfire. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harry was tiring of war, so he tested himself by taking the city of Meereen, in record time. It fell in under thirty minutes, which Harry was thrilled with. All slaver owners, which was most of the nobility, were exterminated, and all wealth taken. The fleet was taken over by Harry's soldiers and was loaded down with former slaves to be sent to the Free Cities. The copper was forcibly extracted by Harry's magic and stored in his massive vaults. After Elyria and New Ghis were dealt with, and the Basilisk Isles were cleansed and razed, Harry decided to return home for the first time in four years. Still, doing all of this took him months, but mainly due to his travelling by ship to keep up appearances. "We are going home," Harry announced to his assembled army. "I have completed all of my goals and even some unplanned ones, but I have done all that is practical to secure these conquests and even prepare for eventual expansion. Most of you are second or third sons who didn't stand to inherit anything, but now you can settle some of the conquered lands as Lords or Knights and start new houses. I thank you all for your service to the realm and I will freely admit that those are just words, so I have given those capable knights of noble upbringing and many other capable people Lordships, Knighthoods, and lands as thanks." They cheered in thanks for Harry. And Harry would secretly be using their hard-won loyalty to gain an army of loyalists for when he needed it, and grant House Lannister much greater influence over Essos than other rival houses. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harry decided to drop by Sunspear to give Oberyn a gift of books and scrolls that had picked up on his travels and then go home to the Westerlands. Harry had acquired several books on magic that he believed Oberyn/Sirius would enjoy learning from. "Hadrian!" Oberyn greeted, surrounded by his daughters and with his paramour Ellaria on his arm. "Hello, Oberyn," Harry greeted back. "I acquired some books that I thought might interest you." Harry said, before handing them to him. "I think one in particular could be beneficial due to your ancestry." "Rhoynar watermagic?" Oberyn asked in surprise, causing his daughters eyes to widen. "Books on bloodmagic, firemagic, air magic, and alchemy. You shouldn't have, Hadrian." "I have extras that I intend to reprint and store," Harry said dismissively. "Sorry, but I'll be holding onto the instructions on creating wildfire; far too many people can create that, but you might be able to create an elixir of life with the alchemy books." "Still, thank you." Oberyn said, sincerely. "Also, Doran has agreed with your ideas and has agreed to wait." "Good, I might be having a tourney soon. I'm hoping that the old lion will agree with it anyway, and I need an excuse to construct tournament grounds large enough to hold my ego." Harry said, causing Oberyn and his family to laugh. Harry was hoping that they would relax around him eventually, but they still distrusted the Lannister's. After that, they talked on more serious things relating to the Fourteen Kingdoms... Dorne, House Martin, Lys, and Myr had assembled an anti-piracy and slavery group intended to guard the local sea against the scum with their combined naval and military might. Harry's conquest began growing and stabilizing further, with Qohor beginning the construction of walls; as suggested by Harry. Volantis and the nearby cities had begun to do the same, and once the two walls met and became one, Harry would infuse magic into them. This would protect the Kingdom until it could be expanded further in a few generations, which Harry intended to be around for and help with. Eventually, Harry returned to his Flagship and continued onto the Westerlands.